Country Songwriter Curly Putman Passes Away

The country music community is mourning the loss of one of its most prolific songwriters, Curly Putman, who passed away on Sunday, October 30, 2016. He was 85. His son, Troy, reports that Mr. Putman died at his home in Lebanon, Tennessee, after suffering congestive heart failure and kidney failure.

Mr. Putman wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, many of which topped the country charts, such as “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “Dumb Blonde” (Dolly Parton’s debut on the country charts), “It’s a Cheating Situation,” “As Long as the Wind Blows,” “Set Me Free,” “My Elusive Dreams,” “You Can’t Have Your Kate and Edith Too” (for the Statler Brothers), “Just For You” and many more.

However, his best-loved song was the wistful “The Green, Green Grass of Home,” which was recorded by a variety of artists including Elvis Presley, Porter Wagoner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Gram Parsons and others.

Born on Putman Mountain near Princeton, Alabama, Curly briefly attended community college before enlisting in the Navy and serving two tours in Korea. In 1956, he married Bernice Soon, to whom he was married until his passing.

In 1960, Mr. Putman wrote a minor hit, “The Prison Song,” as well as “I Think I Know,” a Top 10 song for Marion Worth. The next year, singer/songwriter Roger Miller introduced Curly to Buddy Killen, the president of Tree Publishing.

After being offered a job at Tree, Curly and his wife made the move to Nashville, where he wrote dozens of hits over the next two decades. In 1976, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Putman is survived by three grandchildren.